We envision a fully integrated Center for the Arts at UVA that expands opportunities for students to pursue their creativity across various artistic disciplines. Our goal is to create a welcoming, inviting, and inclusive arts space that connects and engages both our community and visitors.
We are pleased to share that the Virginia General Assembly has approved construction funding for the University of Virginia Center for the Arts. This landmark investment allows the University to advance a transformational project that will strengthen creativity, learning, and community engagement across Grounds and throughout Central Virginia.
We are deeply grateful for the visionary leadership of Tessa Ader, whose $50 million gift in 2021 established the Richard and Tessa Ader Performing Arts Center as the cornerstone of this initiative. Her extraordinary generosity enabled UVA to move forward with the project’s full design phase while state support was still pending, providing critical momentum and helping bring the Center for the Arts closer to reality.
Since that gift, UVA has engaged a world-class team of architects of Diamond Schmitt, Selldorf Architects and VMDO, and design work is nearing completion. With state funding now secured, the project is positioned to move from planning into construction.
The Center for the Arts will create a vibrant, integrated arts ecosystem that brings together performance, visual art, music, and dance in a connected and collaborative setting. At its heart, the Performing Arts Center will feature a 1,200-seat performance hall, a 150-seat recital venue, interdisciplinary arts spaces, and a dedicated home for dance. These facilities will expand opportunities for artistic excellence, innovation, and cross-disciplinary collaboration at a scale not currently available in our region.
The broader Center for the Arts will unite the University’s Music Department, Dance Program, and two museums, the Fralin Museum of Art and the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, with the Performing Arts Center at Emmet-Ivy. Together, these spaces will enhance teaching and learning, support groundbreaking artistic work, and deepen engagement among students, faculty, visiting artists, scholars, and the wider community.
While this important milestone marks significant progress, philanthropic support remains vital to realizing the Center’s full potential. Continued investment will help complete construction and establish the operating and programming endowments needed to attract exceptional artists and scholars, support student success, and ensure broad public access to world-class arts experiences for generations to come.
Passionate supporters who recognize the arts’ impact on academic missions, student experiences, and the wider Charlottesville community have already stepped up. If you want to be involved or learn more about the project including naming right opportunities, please contact Cameron Mowat, Director University Arts Development at cm2sd@virginia.edu or on 434- 282-3289.
UVA President Jim Ryan announced at a Board of Visitors meeting a $50 million lead gift from Tessa Ader for the building of a performing arts center at the University.
The Performing Arts Center at UVA will expand opportunities for students to pursue their creativity through different artistic disciplines while creating a welcoming, inviting, and inclusive arts space to connect and engage our community and visitors.
